


A Broken Dream (A New One Remade)

by rz_jocelyn



Series: The three times that Kuroiwa Kazuma was glad that Katayama Hajime was back in his older brother’s life (and the one time that he was glad that Katayama Ryo was back in his younger brother’s) [2]
Category: Ochanomizu Rock - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 04:05:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14252682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rz_jocelyn/pseuds/rz_jocelyn
Summary: [Spoilers for the "Ochanomizu Rock" drama up until Episode 08. Implied spoilers for "Ochanomizu Rock -THE LIVE STAGE-". Set post-stage.] ‘Sometimes, I wonder what it’d be like to actually make that dream come true; what it would’ve been like if, instead of joining THE CROW, I had formed a band with Hajime as a vocalist instead.’





	A Broken Dream (A New One Remade)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: The fascinating characters of "Ochanomizu Rock" do not belong to me, but to their creators. With that, enjoy! xD

‘Oh, and Hajime?’ The tone of Katayama Ryo’s voice was completely dry, his expression deadpan. ‘Congratulations on your first… Gift.’

Following Ryo-san out of the venue and jogging slightly to the car to open the door for the president, Kuroiwa Kazuma struggled to keep a straight face at the look on Katayama Hajime’s face.

He admitted to taking a bit longer than he should’ve as he stood outside the car, hand gripping the handle of the car door, shoulders shaking, fighting to calm down before getting into the car himself. 

There was silence as Kazuma reversed out of the parking lot. 

And, then. 

‘We used to have a lot of that too.’

Kazuma looked at his president through the rear-view mirror. ‘We?’

‘Back when I was with THE CROW.’

It took all of Kazuma’s self-control to not react overtly, his fingers tightening their grip on the steering wheel. He waited for Ryo-san to continue, swallowing the questions that threatened to crawl up his throat. 

It wasn’t always that Ryo-san willingly volunteered information about his band days. 

‘Junya revelled in it.’ Kazuma couldn’t help but be surprised at how easily Kiriyama Junya’s name slipped from Ryo-san’s lips, especially with everything that had occurred between them. But then again, as far as Kazuma could sense, Ryo-san had never truly hated his former band member no matter what went down between them, and the two of them had seemed to come to an understanding in their most recent confrontation with each other.

In no small part thanks to Hajime-kun’s timely intervention. 

Even from the rear-view mirror, Kazuma could see that the expression on Ryo-san’s face was one of nostalgia, eyes looking back into a time when things weren’t so complicated and Ryo-san was just an aspiring musician with a dream, the way that the members of DYDARABOTCH and The DIE is CAST were now. 

‘Flowers were one thing, and even the occasional handmade gift, which were a bit more dangerous, but there’d be fans who’d throw things like their undergarments and condoms.’ 

Kazuma wished that he could say he was shocked, but he had been to more than a few rowdy concerts, and he was very familiar with some of the things that could be thrown at the performers on the stage. ‘Undergarments and condoms? That’s not very original of them.’

The secretary smirked well aware that his president could probably see his expression even as he concentrated on the road.

‘Well, there was that one time where someone threw a dildo at us. Hit Junya smack in the thigh, and gave him quite the bruise. Judging from the weight, he had said that it would’ve been quite the industrial dildo made for hard action.’

Kazuma choked, coughing, as Ryo-san laughed. ‘Does that meet your expectations?’

‘Quite.’

Still chuckling, Ryo-san turned once again to look out the car window. ‘Anyway, the point is that we did actually receive gifts like that in a similar manner. I can still remember my reaction the first time it happened, even now. Much like my brother, I was quite horrified.’ Kazuma didn’t even try to hold back his snort of amusement, as inelegant and unprofessional as it was. If Ryo-san’s expression had been anything like Hajime-kun’s, “quite horrified” would’ve been an understatement. 

Hajime-kun looked like someone had climbed up on to the stage, punched him in the face and proceeded to yell at him about how much DYDARABOTCH sucked, no pun intended in light of his and Ryo-san’s current conversation. 

Judging from Ryo-san’s mischievous grin, the older Katayama was no less amused as he recalled how Hajime-kun had just frozen like a deer in headlights, his voice dying an abrupt death as he actually squeaked on a note. That had been the last straw for Nara-kun whose fingers stuttered to a halt as he doubled over laughing even as Nitta-kun glared at the offending object, looking suitably disgusted. 

Kazuma was pretty sure that he saw Inui-kun do the sign of the cross. 

The secretary knew that Hajime-kun was probably just as familiar with the antics of a rowdy crowd as he was, but seeing fans fling used, soaked panties at someone else was very different to having used, soaked panties being flung at you and feeling the squelch of wet cloth against your leg.

‘I wish I could say that you get use to it, but you don’t.’ Ryo-san’s voice was shaking now, and Kazuma suspected that if the other man had been a less composed individual, he would’ve been doubled over with laughter. ‘You just hope that nobody throws anything at you, or that if they do, you’d be able to avoid it.’ 

‘Do you miss it? Performing?’

Even without looking at the mirror, Kazuma could feel Ryo-san’s startled gaze as he inwardly hit himself. It was already a miracle that Ryo-san hadn’t clamped up, and of all the insensitive questions for him to blurt out… 

‘I’m sorry, it isn’t my place-’

‘Sometimes, I do.’

Kazuma’s eyes flew up to the rear-view mirror, but Ryo-san had already shifted his gaze and returned to staring out the window. Surprisingly, Ryo-san’s face lacked the hard expression that his countenance usually took on whenever he talked about his performing days. Instead, he looked thoughtful. 

‘I didn’t think I did, especially after THE CROW had disbanded, and Junya and I had gone our separate ways. Even after that, when I started Crimson Sky Record and recruited DIC, I never had the desire to stand on the stage again; it was good enough that I could produce a band that would rock the music scene to its very foundations.’

Kazuma didn’t even need to ask the question to know the answer. 

‘Hajime-kun.’

Ryo-san’s voice was soft as he responded. ‘It was our dream to perform together, you know, Hajime’s and mine.’ 

There was a heartbeat of silence.

‘And my mother’s.’

Kazuma resisted the urge to hold his breath, feeling as if even the smallest sound would shatter the fragile mood that had blanketed them both.

A faint chuckle escaped Ryo-san. ‘Or, at least it I and my brother wanted to perform together, and our mother was delighted that we got along well enough to want that.’ Then, in a small voice, ‘She promised to come and see us perform.’

Kazuma gripped the steering wheel so tightly that he was sure his fingernails had punctured it. Ryo-san’s mother had passed away even before he had become a member of THE CROW. 

‘Sometimes…’ There was a thread of longing in Ryo-san’s voice that made the secretary’s heart ache. 

It made Ryo-san sound so young. 

‘Sometimes, I wonder what it’d be like to actually make that dream come true; what it would’ve been like if, instead of joining THE CROW, I had formed a band with Hajime as a vocalist instead.’ 

‘You could still!’ Even if Ryo-san didn’t, Kazuma, himself, jumped at the sudden loudness of his own voice. 

And, that effectively shattered the mood. 

‘I-I mean…’

Coming back to himself, Ryo-san chuckled at his flustered, sputtering secretary. ‘I guess it would be more accurate to say that I had wondered about it, especially after reconciling with my brother, but he and I are too different; we both share the same dream to stand on the stage in Budokan, but we’d never see eye-to-eye on what we would want for our music.’ 

Although still embarrassed, Kazuma looked up to meet his president’s eyes, eyes that glittered with a purpose. 

‘I chose to produce DIC because I believed that DIC wanted the same things I did, which meant that I could be of use to them; DIC is the band I will take to Budokan.’ 

The determination in Ryo-san’s words rung true; words that resounded with his spirit and passion. 

‘As for performing,’ the president continued, ‘that part of my dream is over. I will never stop being a band musician at heart, but I much rather prefer producing and being able to create a path for a band to reach their dreams.’ 

The thoughtful look was back. ‘I might actually have made this choice a long time ago, but it was only now that I could truly let go, and move forward on this path of my own that I had chosen.’ 

The words remained unspoken, but they hung in the air nevertheless. 

Thanks to Hajime-kun. 

It was Ryo-san’s reconciliation with Hajime-kun that had prompted Ryo-san to stop in his tracks and thoroughly re-examine his past; the past that had trapped Ryo-san in an endless loop of bitterness, a past he had been running away from. And, Kazuma had been there, watching as Hajime-kun had reached out to his older brother, prompting Ryo-san to thoroughly examine his choices, to really look at the path he had chosen and to take that decisive step forward, cutting all the chains with his past that had held him back. 

Even the conversation they just had, with Ryo-san talking so easily about THE CROW, it was because Ryo-san had been able to finally accept his past with the band that he was now able to look back on those good memories with amusement, untainted by the circumstances that led to their eventual disbandment. 

And it was all thanks to Hajime-kun. 

Rather than voice the thoughts in his head, Kazuma instead cleared his throat. ‘DYDARABOTCH is a good band.’

_Thank you, Hajime-kun, for being there when Ryo-san needed you most. Please work towards your dreams without hesitation and don’t worry about your older brother; I promise you that I will support him as he works towards his._

Ryo-san nodded. ‘They are young and raw, but they have true talent and potential. They’ll go far.’ 

They definitely would. Kazuma had no doubts about that. 

And, just as much as Ryo-san, he looked forward to the day when he would be able to see them, to see Hajime-kun, stand on that stage in Budokan. 

‘Speaking of far…’ Kazuma looked up to meet his president’s gaze. 

‘Would you like me to throw something questionable at you, Kuroiwa? How long did you think you would fool me, driving around in circles?’ 

 

~ OWARI ~


End file.
